An Alicorn Wedding
by ArtemisK
Summary: This is based off AVeryStrange on DA. Go check her out because that's where I got the idea to write this. It's the wedding Applejack referenced in "To Be An Alicorn" TwiXLuna Yay! Oh, and please review. I'd liketo know what you guys think. Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

No no no no no no! Why did it have to be today? It could have been weeks or months in the future. It didn't even have to happen at all! Why oh why did this have to be the day? _I don't even want to open my eyes_. Wait! That's it! If I don't open my eyes, then I don't have to get up. I can pretend I slept through the day and then it'll be tomorrow. It's foolproof. It's such a good plan I shut my eyes as tight as I can and concentrate on not getting up. _Just concentrate Twi. It's easy. Just concen….._

"Giggle…. What in the world are you doing silly?"

Uh oh. She noticed I was awake. This isn't good. If I don't open my eyes, maybe she'll just go away. She can do the whole thing herself. There's no need for me to be there. I'm just going to keep my eyes shut tight and stay in bed. It's her dumb idea, her plan, she can do it.

After a couple minutes of silence, I start to relax. Maybe she's gone and left me here to wait out the day. Oh please let it be that she left. Unfortunately, as my right eye squeaks open a sliver, I can see black and blue not inches from my face. I let out a squeak of surprise and stumble backwards, falling out of the bed as I do so. Now all I can do is lie in a disgruntled heap of pony and blanket.

I can hear her pleased tone behind me. "Oh lovely! You're awake! Now we can start the new day. And what a wonderful day it is. Celestia really outdid herself." She looks over to me. "Well lets go love! You really should get up out of those sheets. We have so much to do and so little time to do it in."

I slowly get up, careful not to get my horn and wings tangled in the sheets. I am not however, successful. "Here love, I'll help you" She giggles again as she trots over to me and uses her teeth to pull the soft silk from my head and shoulders. As I untangle myself, I notice for the first time, the pure happiness radiating from her face. My breath catches as I revel in the absolute beauty of a truly and utterly joyful Princess Luna. Even when she's happy, she still isn't like this. Even her eyes seemed to have a certain brilliance in them as she leaned down to nuzzle her cheek to mine. I even start to feel at ease until I remember why I was so against awakening in the first place. At this I pull away and sigh.

Confusion replaces the joy that was comforting me moments ago. She looks at me with worry evident in her features.

"Luna," I start. "You know I love you more than I can ever truly tell you and there is no pony I want to spend my now long life with, but…. Isn't this too much? I mean, almost every pony in Equestria will be there! All of them watching us, judging what we're doing. I…."

I'm suddenly interrupted in my rambling by a pair of soft lips meeting my own. I begin to feel content again. Why couldn't we just do this? That would be just fine with me.

"Beautiful Twilight." she whispered as our lips parted. "This isn't about any pony other than the two of us. You are all that I care about today and I shall prove it tonight with the greatest work I have ever created. None will dare doubt my love for you when they see the wonder this night sky will bring. Just keep thinking of after and you will be just fine. I promise."

"Ohhhh….. alright." I sigh. This time in defeat. "For you and only you. And about your gift for me, I think I finally found what to give you. But it'll have to wait till after tonight for you to see it."

She smiled. "I expected nothing less from my stubborn little mare. You had me worried, wrapped up in all your books again. I'm so curious to see it. But, you're right, it will have to wait. There is so much yet to do! And speaking of which," Luna turned toward the ornate double doors leading to the hall. "If I don't let her in, I think she might explode from the anticipation."

I look in confusion toward the doors. "What do you?..."

My answer came in the form of a pink missile that crashed into me with a burst of confetti.

"TWILIGHT! !

My vision was assaulted by an impossibly hyper pony; one who I swear was vibrating with excitement. Of course we had to have the best party pony in all of Equestria plan the whole thing. Somehow she gave Luna and myself a fully detailed plan of everything down to the last banner the very next day after we told her what we wanted. I had yet to see any of her work as I was shut in my room for the past week for this to be a total surprise. Otherwise, I probably would have flown away in horror at the extravagancy of it all.

"Pinkie Pie." I gasp. "I love you to pieces but you got to get off me. Can't. Breath."

"Oh!" she giggled. "Sorry Twilight. I'm just so excited! This is going to be the biggest and best party in the history of parties. And I know all about the history of parties cause' I wrote the book on the history of parties. Did you know there were parties even back in the days of early Canterlot? They weren't nearly as good as this one will be because I did everything and I mean everything to make sure that…."

Pinkie's speech was cut off by a gentle but firm push out the door by the best fashionista in Canterlot.

"Yes darling," she said as she shut the door on the still rambling pink pony. "I'm sure it's absolutely marvelous and all but we need to start getting them ready. The ceremony is only six hours away!"

"Sure thing Rarity!" Pinkie replied. "I'll go make the final preparations. Bye!"

As she closed the door, the white unicorn looked my way.

"If you think that was bad, you should try being the servants. They're all Pinkied out." Rarity looked to Luna. "Your Highness, if you would be so kind as to join Fluttershy in Princess Celestia's room. She's waiting there for you. And don't worry; she's just as capable as I with the task of making you look spectacular."

"Thank you." Luna replied. "I'm sure you and Fluttershy will do better than expected. One more thing though." She gave me one last kiss to remind me of my promise that I would go through with this. That I could be strong.

Using her horn to summon her tools, Rarity began to set up all of the things she needed to give me the biggest makeover of my life. It scared me slightly to see everything she was conjuring up but I trusted Rarity. This was her chance to do the best work of her career and she was determined to make it as perfect as possible

With all of her items where she wanted them, Rarity finally turned to me. "Alright darling. Are you ready to become one of the most beautiful alicorns in all of Equestria?

"I think so"

This was going to be painful.

"Finally! After nearly four hour of tireless work, I give you: Her Majesty, Twilight Sparkle!"

As Rarity slowly took off the cloth covering my eyes, I gazed into the mirror and let out an audible gasp of astonishment. When Rarity said it was her greatest work, she wasn't saying that lightly. Even in all my modesty, I had to admit, I looked…. otherworldly.

On my horn, Rarity had set a web like necklace over it made of obsidian links and diamonds at odd loops in the design. The adornment led all down my horn and disappeared into my mane. Said mane (which had become a flowing twilight, much like Luna and Celestia's after my "revival") was no longer flowing to the side. Instead, it was now directed to blend perfectly into the dress behind me. The dress was made out of no material I had ever felt before and seemed as if there was no fabric there at all, only the shifting colors of an actual twilight with the barest hint of stars near my hooves. On each hoof, Rarity had placed an obsidian clasp with a purple gem infused at the head of each clasp. In my tail, there were no diamonds because I didn't feel any extra weight, but it shimmered as if infused with the twinkling stars of Luna's sky. To complete the entire dress, a necklace made of, again, obsidian was draped under my neck. In the center of the necklace was a gemstone of such deep blue, it would look black if not given enough light.

I had refused to think of myself as royalty, even though most ponies were now calling me Princess as well as Luna and Celestia. But, looking at my reflection in the mirror, I looked like only one thing. A Goddess. A Goddess of Twilight, the link between the night and day but just as wondrous as either.

It took a couple minutes, but I finally found my voice.

"Rarity." I whispered. "I…"

"Yes?" she asked, excitement building.

I remembered to take a breath. "I look… gorgeous. How did you…?"

Rarity giggled to herself. She knew what I was asking. "A lady of fashion never reveals her secrets darling. I can tell you though that I invented that material myself. You and Luna will be a matching pair and when you stand together, you two shall flow together perfectly. This is truly my greatest work."

I could hear the absolute pride in her voice and I couldn't blame her. My eyes couldn't tear themselves away from the mirror, transfixed on my reflection. After a few more minutes of admiring Rarity's work, I heard her cough behind me.

"I know it is truly stunning." she said. "But we are becoming pressed for time my dear. Applejack and Rainbowdash are waiting for us. They will go over the ceremony with you to make sure everything goes perfectly."

I turned toward her and embraced my friend in as big a hug as I could manage so as not to move anything out of place.

"Thank you so much Rarity." I whispered. "It's beyond words."

"I know darling. Thank you. I did it for you Twilight. It's all for you." We separated and she wiped a tear from her eye. "Now go find Applejack and Rainbow. They're waiting for you at the entrance to the Grand Throneroom. I need to clean up and prepare myself after all."

I smile over my shoulder as I leave the room. "Of course. Thank you so much! I'll never forget this Rarity!"

"I should think not." she scoffs. "Now shoo you silly filly. I must prepare to dazzle as well. I can't very well attend a wedding looking like any common pony!"

With that she effectively shut me out of my own room, leaving me with no choice but to join Rainbow and AJ at the entrance to the Throneroom. I turned at began my decent down the Lunar Staircase as this portion of the castle was affectionately called. At each step, it depicted a unique constellation in the night sky. As I reached Ursa Minor, the staircase turned, revealing two of my best friends from Ponyville, Applejack and Rainbowdash. Both were dressed in their Gala dresses, but now each had their Elements of Harmony necklaces on. Both of them looked as beautiful as any pony could be, but when they saw me coming down the steps, both of them stood there with their mouths hanging wide open, at a loss for words. A hot feeling of embarrassment came over me because even after a few years of becoming only the third alicorn in Equestria, I still found all the eyes on me to be a little much. I tried my best to push those feelings down however, and managed to smile as I approached them.

Applejack was the first to find something to say. "Gosh Twilight. If you ain't the pertiest pony I've ever seen!"

"Oh stop it Applejack." I said. "You both look just as wonderful. The necklaces are a great touch by the way."

Rainbow managed to speak up at this point. "Nuh uh Twilight. Rarity really went all out on you. Even my sonic rainboom isn't as cool as you right now! You're totally beautiful."

I shook my head. "Come on girls, none of that. I'm sure I'm going to hear that enough today so let's get this going shall we? I'm nervous enough as it is."

"Sure thing Twi." Applejack replied. "Now let's go over wat's gonna happen for the ceremony. Pinkie gave us very clear instructions on what to do. Ah reckon she's getting the final touches on everything now."

I nodded my head as AJ gave me my directions. Just beyond these doors was the Grand Throneroom. Inside, as many ponies as possible were crammed to see Luna and myself before we got to the Royal Garden where the ceremony was taking place. First I would go; through the crowd would be a red carpet for me to follow. This way, anypony that couldn't get into the garden via invitation could still see me and Luna, as well as be able to see the ceremony. Just for this occasion, the Grand Architect tore down the walls separating the Throneroom from the garden and replaced it with three solid marble pillars. Once I had made my way through the crowd, I would then slowly walk to the center of the garden, which had now an ornate gazebo facing the rising moon.

"You'll know what to do when you enter Twilight." Applejack explained. "There'll be an orchestra playin in the Throneroom and it'll guide you to the pedestal."

After I reached the pedestal, Luna would then make her entrance and join me. Once both of us were side by side, Celestia would then finish the rest. As my Mare of Honor, Applejack would walk with me down the aisle as would Rainbow with Luna. I wasn't sure why Luna chose Rainbowdash but there was never any time to ask her so I just let it go. When Applejack finished, she looked to me with worry in her eyes.

"You gonna be ok sugarcube?" she asked "You look a might green."

"I'm getting there Applejack" I assured her. "It's just all so much."

Applejack opened her mouth and was about to say something to help calm my nerves, when from behind the door, the blasting of trumpets sounded, signaling the time to begin.

Rainbowdash put her hoof on my shoulder. "It's time Twilight. You're gonna be just fine. This is nothing compared to what you've had to do before."

I nodded and took a deep breath.

"I'm right here." Applejack said. "I'll be right next to ya the whole way Twilight. You ain't got nothing ta worry bout."

Again I took another breath as the gigantic doors before me began to open, revealing the most ponies I had ever seen in my life in one place.

As I began to look around, I saw ponies from all over Equestria. A sea of ponies of every color, shape, and size were present to see their soon-to-be princess. Every one of their eyes locked on to me instantly and an audible gasp rose from the crowd. I instantly wanted to run, to be anywhere but here. I wanted to be back in bed with Luna where there was no one watching my every move without ever looking away. I must have unconsciously made a move backward because Applejack gave me a slight nudge to move forward.

Gathering all my strength, and a little from Applejack as well, I began to advance past the guards on either side of the doors. As soon as I set foot on the red carpet ahead of me, a soft and slow orchestra began to play. Oddly enough, it was coming from above and I cast my gaze upward. Floating above the crowd and just below the majestic chandeliers, a cloud was set up with the orchestra resting on it. I almost stopped and laughed out loud when I saw who was conducting the serene sound. Derpy Hooves, of all ponies, was leading the strings in a magical serenade that directed my pace on the floor, winding among the well wishers and admirers. Everyone was silent as they let the music wash over them, a perfect complement to the descending sun and my advance. In the crowd of endless ponies, I began to notice other races as well. A few dragons from the east were scattered in the crowd, towering over everyone else. Griffins from the south, Eagles from the north, and Buffalo from the west were all in attendance to view the royal wedding of Equestria. It was the event of the century and all the races had sent dignitaries to witness this event.

As I reached the middle of the path, the music began to pick up ever so slightly to signal that Luna's entrance was approaching. Applejack and I hurried along and reached the end of our journey just as the music reached its crescendo. The end of the path turned sharply into the garden which I later realized was intentional so as to hide Luna from those in the garden until the last possible moment.

We turned and I was granted my first glimpse of the Royal Garden in all its splendor. The sun was just beginning to touch down beyond the horizon which gave an unusual serene feel to the garden. In it, there were rows of ponies and the royalty of the neighboring races that had found themselves invited to the main event. They all turned to gaze at me as I walked the final length of the path. Now, instead of carpet, a soft green grass was arranged to form a walkway through the rows of chairs straight to the gazebo situated at the very center of the garden. It was then that I noticed the piece of music was coming to a close and I had finally reached the pedestal under the gazebo where Princess Celestia had been waiting. She dipped her head toward me as I settled in my place to her right. Almost as soon as I stopped moving, so too did the music. An eerie silence gripped the dying day as anticipation was building. Now that I had been revealed, everyone was waiting for the next alicorn to make her appearance. It was also in the silence that I noticed all of my previous anxiety and worry had left me and instead, I felt anxious. I wanted to see her more than I had ever thought possible and silently prayed for the trumpets to announce her arrival.

But, the trumpets never came. Almost a minute of silence passed and the anxiety I had been feeling before came creeping back. What if she suddenly changed her mind and got cold hooves? What if she had found someone else and was running off with that pony. What if…?

My racing mind was interrupted by the faintest of bells. I almost wouldn't have noticed them if it had not been absolutely silent. But then, I heard them again. All of a sudden, the sound of chiming bells in a beautiful harmony could be heard and were only getting louder and louder until they couldn't possibly raise in volume any higher; and then abruptly stopped. Just like when I had entered the Grand Throneroom, the orchestra began. This time however, it was much different from what had accompanied me. My music had been a slow and flowing march of sorts, almost exactly like what Applejack had described as a guide. What was playing now, however, was nothing like that. If fact, rather than starting off in a low and smooth melody as mine had, it began with the thrumming of deep drums. From there it escalated and was joined by the rest of the instruments in a ferocious display of power. Then, at the height of the sound, it slowed into a somber and sad melody; it almost felt lonely in its serenity. I realized as this part of the song continued: it was Luna's story. It started with her confrontation with Celestia and was now focusing on her imprisonment in the cold and loneliness of the moon. Not surprisingly, this was the longest portion of the music and masterfully conveyed the sadness of the time for the Princess. After that section finished, it moved into her return, her second confrontation, and finally, our union. The final portion seemed to be the most beautiful and there was nothing I could compare it to. The music made my heart swell with joy that reminded me of why I was doing and steeled my resolve. This is exactly what I wanted, even if I only now realized it.

When the piece came to a close, the crowd could not help but erupt into cheers. Even from where I stood, I could hear the thunderous applause coming from the giant throneroom. During the ovation for what was certainly an instant masterpiece, Derpy flew from her perch in the throneroom and out into the garden. She landed at a grand piano I had not noticed until she sat at it and began to play. It was Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. As I listened to the new piece, I felt Celestia brush my side with her hoof and pointed down the grass path.

I nearly began to cry right then and there.

There, Luna appeared in all the glory and magnificence that a Goddess of the Moon could encompass. She was clothed in a dress to match mine in shape but where as mine depicted the coming of night, hers was the embodiment of it. An Aurora Borealis waved down her sides to merge seamlessly with her tail that somehow held a swirling galaxy in its depths. From the bottom of her hooves, a trail of stars formed, winding their way to the top in a dazzling pattern. All her adornments matched mine perfectly except where my gems were a deep and dark blue, hers were a deep and vibrant purple. Somehow, Rarity had found a purple diamond and crafted it to look exactly like my cutiemark and placed it in the center of Luna's necklace. I literally forgot to breathe as she slowly stepped down the aisle and it was only when my lungs began to ache that I took a deep breath. Suddenly, there was no one else in existence except for the Goddess in my vision. No one else in all of Equestria could possible matter or ever come close to the majesty of my only love.

With the final note of the piano fading into silence, all those (except the dragons who merely sat on the ground) all those standing sat down and watched as Luna took her place directly opposite of me. She said nothing but gave me the same soft smile she had when she left the room this morning. The same smile that promised me it would all be ok and nothing could possibly go wrong on this night.

I never doubted that smile.

Right before Princess Celestia began to speak; the last of the sun disappeared beneath the horizon and gave birth to a breathtaking burst of blue, purple, and red. A perfect twilight.

"To all those gathered with us." she began. "Welcome. Welcome to the joining of two souls that have found each other over the obstacles that this world has thrown at them. Two souls that bonded through an adversity so great that one was almost unable to be with us tonight. Together they have found a coexistence with each other that the rest of us can behold and aspire to one day have ourselves with someone who loves us. Let us tonight bask in their love and appreciate it as a pure light that will envelope them forever, through this world and the next. We shall now commence the ceremony of bonding as the first Celestial beings did before the creation of Earth."

Looking out to the crowd, Celestia called out. "Are there any among you who see reason to doubt the love between these two? Let yourself be heard now or be silenced forever."

I looked out to the crowd and almost smiled as no one dared moved should that movement be taken as an objection.

Satisfied, Celestia turned to me.

"Twilight Sparkle, do you vow before this gathering and before the heavens above that you will forever love and care for the soul you are about to wed?"

"I do."

"Do you vow to never waver in your devotion to nor shy away from the bond that holds you with your beloved?"

"I do."

"Do you vow to give yourself fully and without restraint to the soul before you, so as to meld from two into one?"

"I do"

Turning her head, Celestia repeated her questions to Luna and received and "I do" after each as she did with me. Once she was finished, her horn glowed as she addressed the gathering.

"Before you stand two souls that have taken the vows of bonding. As they are alicorns, ancient and powerful laws will now be theirs to follow. Their souls shall be forever bonded by their oaths taken and magic enacted. By the power vested in me by the Powers That Be, I bond you Twilight Sparkle and you Luna Dea in a holy matrimony."

An odd instinct then told me to lower my head and touch my horn to Celestia's, which was now glowing brighter than was possible to look at. I could faintly see that Luna was doing the same as me and all three of our horns touched. It was in a moment of pure clarity that I revisited what happened when I shared my magic with Luna's to raise the moon. I could feel her as if I was her. All of her sorrow, joy, worries, knowledge, and history; everything that made Luna who she was, that was now mine to bear as well. For a brief instant, I _was_ Luna and felt like I understood her like no other pony I ever knew. Everything about her was laid to bear and I was faintly aware the same was happening to her. Our consciousness became one as our very souls melded into a single entity as our bonding proceeded. Then, in the moment following the first, our souls split into their original two halves. Except this time, there was something new. A bond between our souls now held us together and became an intricate part of who we were. After this moment, we would never be able to think of ourselves as alone. Never again would Luna or I be without the other because in a way, we were one; our souls merely two sides of one coin. From here on, anything felt by one would be felt by the other. One's pain would be both their pain. One's joy would be both their joy. It was the closest any being could achieve of merging two into one while still separating the two alicorns as their own consciousness. Only alicorns could achieve such a merging and they alone could truly be with the one they loved forever and ever.

In the third moment, I gasped and my eyes shot open as I broke into a cold sweat. I began to pant as if I had just run harder than I ever had in my life. Across from me Luna was doing the same. After what I had just experienced I was surprised to be thinking as myself and not as Luna or some combination of the both of us. Yet, I could still feel her and through our bond I felt her exhaustion as well as mine. I also felt her unbridled joy at what we had just done. Now she would never be alone as she was in her imprisonment. No longer would she ever feel the need to crave other ponies to love her or her sky like she did before. She had me now more completely than I thought was possible and it would be enough for the both of us.

I heard Celestia over my head as I caught my breath. "I present to you, those that have witnessed this event and the Powers That Be, the forever bonded Twilight Sparkle and Luna Dea! May they live forever in the love they have found in each other and the bond that now entwines them as one."

The crowd both in the garden and in the throneroom exploded into an uproar of applause and cheer. It was so loud I nearly missed the cheering of the five ponies and dragon that were trying to be louder than the rest. Without warning they rushed at me and I became the center of a giant group hug. Tears were flowing from everyone and nothing was audible as they all tried to say something at once. It was Fluttershy who was the first to notice Luna and got the rest of us to look toward the changing sky.

The Moon was rising in a brilliance of white that made clear every imperfection of its face. With it, entire spirals and swathes of galaxies exploded from behind the majestic orb to fill the sky with so many stars the night nearly turned to day in their light. The blackness of the space between was such that the dust of long gone stars gave the night such colors as gold, pink, and silver that perfectly complimented the sky around it. As a final touch of brilliance, a rainbow of Aurora Borealis burst over the horizon and bathed the ground below in a sway of shimmering light. There was nothing to compare it to because there was no equal to the beauty of this night.

While everyone else stared transfixed at the sky, Luna made her way to me and whispered in my ear. "This is my gift to you my love. The greatest work I have yet completed. All of this for you and even all of this cannot compare to the beauty you hold in my eyes."

I felt a complete contentment envelop me as we shared our first kiss as a married couple. Our lips met and through them we expressed as much of our love as we could. All too soon though, we parted simply for the necessity of air.

"So my love, what did you have to give to me?"

I leaned in so that my mouth was only a hair's length away from her ear and whispered what I had found in the deepest part of the castle archive. Her head snapped back and eyes seemed to grow twice as large.

"No." she whispered. "It's not possible."

I nodded and looked deep into her eyes.

"Never say that again."


	2. An Alicorn Begins

*Well, here ya go guys. If the format is a little weird, my apologies. I'm still messing around with documents and uploading blah blah blah. Anyway! HUGE thanks to my two Beta writers "TheMaskedRiddler" and "dragonheart93". I couldn't have done it without you guys.

In the highest tower of Canterlot Castle, a purple Alicorn lay reading with the setting sun at her back. Her mane, which looked as if it was made with the colors of twilight, seemed to never stop flowing past her shoulders even when there was no gust of air to move it with. She heaved a sigh as she turned the page of a book so enormous, it would have taken an earth pony two hooves to move one page but which Twilight simply moved with her magic. For a couple minutes longer she read in silence, seeming to be waiting for something but not in any particular hurry for it to get there.

The soft fluttering of wings disturbed the silence and Twilight turned her head to see the Princess of Night land on the balcony. The princess made her way over to the reading mare and softly nuzzled her cheek.

"How in Equestria did you make it all the way up here?" she asked.

Twilight looked at her. "Oh you know, I just made my wings go up and down till eventually I got high enough and landed here."

"Silly." Luna replied, "Not to hurt your feelings but with all the weight you've gained, it should have been a little harder than just 'making my wings go up and down'. And just what are you reading?"

Even when transformed into a powerful Alicorn Goddess, flying wouldn't come naturally to Twilight. Recently, she had broken her wing in yet another accident when trying to fly. Since then Luna had been coaching her and trying to get Twilight to fly with grace and ease. It wasn't her easiest task.

"I may have used a little magic to help." Twilight said, almost with a bit of guilt. "It doesn't count as cheating on my flying lessons because I have more to fly with than I bargained for. And to answer your second question, this book is the complete history of Dragons, Alicorns, and Griffins. Or, at least I think it is. The title is hard to read. I know we've been having a lot of strained relations with the Griffins, so I wanted to read up on what I can."

Luna laughed. "Why is it that whenever there's a problem, you read? Twilight, the reason we're not getting along is because their new King is a tyrant. Unfortunately, from what Celestia told me, he was a spoiled brat that never got told no. Then, when he took the throne, he never learned to compromise. We've been having a border dispute and now he is threatening to take what he wants by force. "

"But that's just it! Why would the griffins follow this guy and do what he says?"

Luna turned the page that Twilight was reading to the beginning of the book. "Twilight? Read this part for me please." She said.

Twilight had skipped over that section of the book because she wanted to look up the most recent history first but she knew Luna was making a point so she began to read.

_At the beginning of all things, there was a being known to mortals simply as The One. The One was the only thing to exist in the void of nothingness because nothing had been created. There was no time and space, there was only void. Then, The One made the first creation. It called forth from the nothingness three beings: an Alicorn, a Dragon, and a Griffin. To Its creations, The One spoke._

"_Dragon, you shall make the world with your strong claws. Forge a home for you and your Sisters, a haven for your creations and have dominion over the Earth. Alicorn, fill the sky above the world with both darkness and light using your powerful magic. Bring beauty to the heavens and have dominion over them. Griffin, breathe life into the Earth with your strong breath. Create life and have dominion over it._

_The three siblings began their tasks and set in motion creation. Using His strong claws, Dragon molded the Earth, giving rise to tall mountains, flat plains, and deep seas. With Her powerful magic, Alicorn swathed the night sky with the cosmos, banishing the Void and forming the moon and sun to watch over the Earth both day and night. Finally Griffin, with Her great breath, bathed the world in the warmth which grew the first forests and began life._

_The One looked upon its children's creation and was pleased. To them, The One commanded, "Go unto this world you have created and multiply. As you are my children, copy me and make children of your own. My work is done and I shall withdraw from this realm and await all those that pass from it."_

_With that, The One left the Universe to receive those that depart our world and hold them forever. So ended the Second Age._

Twilight stopped reading and looked at her mate.

"Ummm…. Luna, love? I don't really understand what this story has to do with anything."

"Well for one thing," Luna replied. "This isn't a story. This is actually what happened as far as my sister and I are aware. We told this to our best historian a century before my banishment and it's the only copy left. Second, keep reading. You will understand soon.

With a sigh, Twilight resumed reading.

_With their tasks done, the three siblings set about populating the world with their descendants. For a time, all were happy and loved under the direction of Griffin, Dragon, and Alicorn. A time came however, when Griffin became unhappy. She began to quarrel with Alicorn because Her people had, in Griffin's eyes, taken too much of the earth for themselves. Griffin called Her brother and sister together to discuss the injustice. Alicorn proclaimed Griffin to be jealous of Her dominion over the sky and her larger number of children. Alicorn soon found fault in Griffin and the two looked to Dragon for his voice in the matter. Dragon claimed to be neutral as none of his creations were in danger and no insult had been paid to him. In the end, no resolution could be made and the anger of the two siblings escalated. It is not said who struck first, but anger turned to hatred and the sisters declared war._

_Sister on sister, friend on friend, the war became an all destructive being of its own. What had once been a world of beauty had turned red with the blood of Griffins and Alicorns. For over a thousand years the two sides destroyed everything in their path and each other. Eventually, it became evident that Alicorn could not hold her own against Griffin and began to lose everything. So many of her children had died and so few could take their place. Dragon, having watched on and seeing the immanent extinction of Alicorn and Her children, called the two siblings for another council. It was there that Dragon called for an end to the war. When Griffin refused, Dragon threatened to enter the war to protect the balance of power that would be thrown into chaos should one of the siblings be destroyed. Arguments lasted for days on end until Griffin relented and agreed to stop her attacks on the condition of borders chosen by Dragon. With the agreement, the three departed to their new territories and peace returned. So ended the Third Age._

_When Alicorn returned, She found that her children had suffered beyond repair and her people faced extinction. Alicorn thought long and hard for a solution when one came to Her. Calling all Her people together, She weaved a spell unlike any other and one which has not been equaled since. From this spell, Alicorn separated Herself and Her people into three new races: Unicorns, Pegasi, and Ponies. With the Alicorns separated, populations rose once more and were pushed from the brink of extinction. However, two Alicorns were still needed to ensure that dominion over the heavens was kept and so twin Alicorns were born from the spell. So ended the Fourth Age. _

"Wait a minute." Twilight said, her horn glowing as she flipped the page back and forth. "That's it? What happened after that? What happened to Griffin and Dragon? And I still don't see what it has anything to do with the Griffins of today."

"Well," Luna began. "While two Alicorns are needed to make sure the Sun and Moon stay in perfect balance, one alone is not as powerful as the original Alicorn. Both are needed. When I was gone, Celestia drew upon my power to govern the Sun and Moon. The problem Twilight, is you."

"Me?" A look of shock passed over Twilight's features and her wings flew to her sides for a moment.

Luna nodded. "Yes you. Twilight, you are a third Alicorn. That alone gives Equestria far too much power."

"And now I'm pregnant." Twilight whispered, realizing the implications of what she just learned.

"Yes." Luna agreed. "The Griffin King is masking it under a border dispute because no one remembers the beginning. Only the rulers remember because it's passed down in the royal families, but what he is really angry about is the imbalance of power. Even the Dragon King is unhappy. It's a good thing the Dragon royalty takes a vow of neutrality or we would be in an even worse position than we are now."

"But," Luna continued when Twilight was about to interrupt. "There is nothing you did wrong. If there is any fault, it's mine because I knew what I was doing and went ahead with it anyway. Twilight, I love you and I will do all that I can to make sure you don't come in harm's way. Just leave this to me and Celestia. We can handle this. Now, aren't your friends coming for a visit today? It's why I was trying to find you."

"Oh! Yes, I completely forgot."

Luna leaned close and nuzzled her mate. "Twilight, I promise you, I will make things right. This isn't something you need to worry about as I can tell you're already starting to do. It wouldn't do for a mother to worry before her foals are even born yet!"

"I guess so. " Twilight conceded as she lifted herself up. She made her way to the balcony and looked down. If it were possible, Twilight would have turned a little green at being so far high. Getting up to the tower was easy but going down was another matter entirely, and she couldn't just teleport because it could hurt her foals.

"Oh, one more thing." She heard behind her. "Spike is here."

At the mention of her best friend's name, Twilight let out a small squeak of joy and leapt off the tower with no fear at all.

"Ohhhh! Where is that feather brain? Twilight is gonna be here any minute!"

A blue mare with a rainbow mane was frantically searching the royal garden and upsetting more than a few animals because of it.

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy called from the ground. "Stop scaring the critters please. I know you're worried about her but the animals are getting frightened by you."

Rainbow landed next to the yellow Pegasus and sighed. "I'm sorry Fluttershy. She can't seem to stay still for more than two seconds and every time I lose her, I just get real worried ya know?"

Fluttershy nodded but before she could say anything, a gray pony with a blond mane popped her head out from the tree behind Rainbow.

"Muffins!"

Rainbow's wings splayed out in surprise and she turned around in annoyance.

"Derpy!" she yelled at the smiling Pegasus. "I've been looking everywhere for you! What are you doing in a tree? We gotta go see Twilight."

"Aw come on Rainbow! I'm only explorin'. It's my one day off and I wanna have some fun." With that, she popped her head back in the tree and disappeared again.

The blue pony just grit her teeth as she plopped her haunches on the ground. "I swear Fluttershy, that pony makes it hard to have the energy to fly some days. Why do I put up with it?"

"Because you love her" Fluttershy said softly

"Sometimes, I don't know why." She called to the tree. "Derpy! Come on, we're going!"

When Dash turned her head back around, her vision turned pink.

"Where ya going Dashie?"

"You're not Derpy" Dash said. This was becoming too much for her.

"No silly!" laughed the pink frilly haired pony. "I'm Pinkie Pie! You're looking for her."

Pinkie Pie stepped away from Rainbow as Derpy crashed from above into a very confused and exasperated Pegasus.

"Alright that's it!" Dash yelled over her gray mate. "No more Pinkie and Derpyness! We gotta go see Twilight. It's the whole reason we're here!"

Pinkie only giggled. "But Pinkieness is my only ness Dashie! I don't have any more nesses. Oh, and we don't have to go see Twilight silly. She's right here!"

Looking up, the four ponies were treated to the sight of Twilight slowly descending into the garden with a familiar not so baby dragon on her back. It was obvious that she was straining a little with the added weight, but her magic was helping her along as she touch down on the grass to a chorus of "Twilight! And Spike!"

Twilight was radiating pure happiness as her long time friends rushed over to nuzzle her gently. It was somewhat of a challenge however, because when she was transformed into an Alicorn, Twilight became as large a pony as Celestia. Luna had as well, albeit slowly. It didn't matter though, because she had some of her best friends with her after what seemed like a millennia apart, even though it wasn't more than a couple years.

In the midst of the reunion and the chatter, Twilight noticed the two ponies missing. "Where's AJ and Rarity?" she asked. Spike noticeably perked up at the mention of Rarity.

Fluttershy spoke up first. "Oh! Well, Rarity had to stay in Fillydelphia because she has a fashion show today. She says that she's sorry but will see you again when she comes back to Canterlot."

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, and Applejack had to stay back on the farm with Big Mac. Something to do with another parasprite infestation."

"Oh, well, that's alright. I'll go see Applejack some time before the twins are bor…"

"TWINS?"

"Oh yes." Twilight smiled. "Luna used a spell and found that I'm going to have two foals. We don't know the gender yet though. I want it to be a surprise."

Even as she smiled though, Twilight couldn't help remember it was her fault that the diplomacy between Griffins and ponies was not going well. It was brushed aside however, in the joy she was feeling in talking to ponies that for once didn't bow every other word or worship her. No, these were her friends and still only thought of her as Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight, wishing to catch up with her friends asked, "So Pinkie Pie, I heard you wanted to open up a Sugarcube Corner here in Canterlot."

"Oh yes!" Pinkie lit up as Twilight mentioned her dream. "I'm almost ready. Spike is gonna help me seal the deal!"

"Spike?"

"Yeah." The dragon interjected. "Pinkie Pie is makin' a cake for her grand opening but it's so big she needs me to bake it with my dragon breath."

"That's wonderful Pinkie! I can't wait to see it."

BOOM

The entrance doors to the garden crashed open as an entire squadron of guards immediately surrounded Twilight and her friends. Several of them were Twilight's personal guards as she could see her crest on their armor so she knew she was somehow in great danger. Before she could even ask what was going on, Luna raced from inside the doors to where Twilight was sitting. She was sobbing and without a word as to what was going on, embraced her mate and held her tightly. Looking past the crying Princess, Twilight noticed that even some of the guards were shaking. It was Rainbow who finally broke the terrible silence.

"Will someone tell us what's going on?"

It was the Captain of Twilight's guard that spoke.

"The Griffins… they came out of nowhere. An entire army… Princess, we're so sorry. There was nothing we could do.

Twilight, who had calmed down Luna grew impatient. "Captain Chaser, what happened?"

The pure white Pegasus took one deep breath before answering.

"The Griffins somehow amassed an invading force. They attacked only an hour ago. For now, they have not moved from their original target. However, the town has been laid to waste and only a few escaped with their lives. It was… burning… burning everywhere. I saw…."

Before she could stop herself, Twilight asked the question no one wanted to answer. "Storm Chaser, where did they attack? What town did they destroy?"

"Ponyville… It's gone"

*Like always, please review. I really do take any advice and criticism to heart and look for ways to improve. On an unrelated note, I have to take a week off. No writing but I will take notes if something pops up. My family is going through a problem and the Blackhawks convention is this weekend.

On another related note, if you're a Vancouver fan: I hate your team and I hate your city but we can still be friends


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